Joe,
My own speculation is that Ancor will announce a 64-port switch (which has been talked about on their web site) at some point, perhaps in combination with this INRANGE deal. It might be a long shot, but I also believe that Ancor is working on an even bigger switch, perhaps 128 or 256 ports. My point to Fang Li was that MKII technology was the reason Ancor got this deal, whether or not it involves the 16-port MKII switches themselves.
Another little publicized tidbit is that the mainframe connectivity market requires switches even BIGGER than 64-ports. I've heard of 256-port ESCON switches. Run that through your calculator. <g>
Kerry talked about this a little bit, but the INRANGE deal means that Ancor is competing in a different area than before. In essence, they have penetrated a NEW market, competing most directly with McData, and not Brocade. The SAN story is just beginning, but this new market could have a lot of potential, and may fit Ancor's strengths even better, due to the superior scalability of the MKII. This may have been the underlying reason to drop the emphasis on the LAN side. If they saw a huge opportunity in the mainframe area, through INRANGE or somebody else, it makes sense to concentrate company resources there.
Craig |
